Our Culture Code

Knowing Our Company

How we work. How we lead.

We know our culture matters in how we run the business, how we go to market, and how we lead each other. It describes what we care about, the things in which we’re willing to invest and the rules that define us as a team.

Our culture is defined by our values and made real every day by how we work and lead. We know our culture is the foundation for all we’ve achieved, and for all the success ahead of us. This is our culture code. #CultureCode.

What we expect from our people matters.

We believe that how we define what we expect from our people, how we equip and support them to achieve it, and how we measure and reward them for doing so is fundamental to our success and the longevity of our culture.

How we put customers first

We always:• Listen and treat every interaction as an opportunity to create a raving fan and a future business opportunity.• Work knowing there are only two jobs in our company: those who serve our customers and those who support them.• Celebrate team members who do amazing things for our customers.• Find solutions that help our customers and lead them to a better future.

We never:• Take our customer relationships for granted, especially our most loyal customers.• Make our customers an afterthought in our decisions.• Assume a customer relationship is someone else’s job. • Create bureaucracy or complexity for customers.

How we win together

We always:• Win and lose as a team.• Are eager to collaborate and have the courage to openly challenge and debate the things that matter.• Respect and value our differences and see a diverse and inclusive workforce as a strength.• Recognize and celebrate achievement and success.

We never:• Make the company our battleground or put our self-interest ahead of the company or our customers.• Undermine decisions once they are made.• Work in isolation or fail to consider the impact of our work on other parts of the company.

How we innovate

We always:• Listen to our people, our customers and our partners as a source of ideas and creative thinking.• Cultivate our entrepreneurial drive as a way to bring breakthrough thinking to our company, our customers and industry.• Remain flexible, agile and willing to change.

We never:• Waste time or resources on things that customers won’t value.• Allow our competitors to outperform, disrupt or displace us.• Let a fear of failure stop us from taking smart risks, thinking big and acting bold.

How we get results

We always:• Measure our success by outperforming the market and our competition. We enjoy beating them and it inspires us.• Are accountable, and persevere in the pursuit of our commitments. We do what we say.• Lead with energy, optimism and a can-do spirit. • Think and act strategically, balancing short and long-term performance.

We never:• Assume that only people with leadership titles or positions can lead.• Invent excuses or blame others for our performance.• Rest on past success or accept mediocrity.• Fail to use data or consider facts and alternatives in our decision making.

How we demonstrate integrity

We always:• Play to win, the right way, every day.• Show courage and speak up to safeguard our personal, team and Dell brands.• Pride ourselves on being honest, transparent and trustworthy.• Contribute to the advancement of human progress in the communities and world in which we work and live.

We never:• Compromise on our integrity, EVER, even under pressure.• Tolerate disrespect, fear or coercion.• Turn our head or make excuses when it comes to ethics.• Fail to live by the Dell code of conduct.

How we lead matters.

There are some who believe that when it comes to leadership, results are all that matter. There are others who believe that standing for the right things is what counts. At Dell we believe the best leaders do both. They have the competence to ensure they and others succeed, backed by the character to do it right.

This type of leadership is something you believe in and it is something you choose to do. It is not a gift or something you are born to. It is not a title and doesn’t come with promotion. Leadership is about inspiring others to follow. It is a practice and a discipline. Leadership is a choice bounded by what you believe, and when we believe and do the right things we can make a positive difference anywhere in our lives. How we lead matters. This is how we lead at Dell.

Relationships

We work hard to build partnerships of trust in all our endeavors. We know that strong relationships bring not only great business success, but great personal fulfillment.

Drive

We recognize that ambition, energy, and grit are rare and difficult to coach. We cultivate these qualities in ourselves and in others, but bound our ambition with a strong desire to do the right thing.

Judgment

We strive to be wise in our decisions. We rely on facts and we value knowing the market and our competition. We think deeply about our choices. When we face conflicting interests we place those of our customers, the company and our people above our own. While we take our decisions seriously, we are agile. We change direction when it’s the right thing to do, and we don’t let bureaucracy get in the way of making decisions.

Vision

We carefully define success, and are relentless about communicating that vision in terms that are simple, vivid, and compelling to our global team. We know why we want to achieve something is as important as what we want to achieve. We provide the context for our decisions and make clear how they serve the company and our customers.

Optimism

We know that people will not follow skepticism or cynicism. While we are realists, we are always optimistic about our people, their potential, and the future. We know confidence takes energy, and that our teams count on us to be a strong source of optimism even during challenging times.

Humility

We are confident in our ability to get things done and take on challenges, but we temper that confidence with the knowledge that comes with experience. We recognize we are not always right and not always the smartest person in the room, and we welcome feedback, take responsibility for our shortcomings, and know our successes are shared.

Selflessness

We know that leadership is about how we succeed and is especially about how we help others succeed. We care about the effect our leadership has on the people we lead. We invest in them, develop them, and do all we can to help them achieve their aspirations and do their best for Dell and the customers we serve.